The Fall of the Old Empire
by Francis G. King
Summary: This story begins at the time when Eragon is just flying off to Vroengard. It follows a completely new character to the world of Inheritance. She is known for now only as the "Woman in Red". She seeks to uncover a lost treasure from long before the Grey Folk bound magic to the Ancient Language. Yet the treasure itself proves to be far more dangerous than she anticipated.
1. Chapter 1: The Spine

Please note that the world and characters of the Inheritance Cycle belong to Christopher Paolini. Those characters which I myself have introduced to his work are all works of fiction are themselves, works of fiction. Any similarities they have to real people are entirely coincidental.

Chapter 1

The forest was full of the war cries of Urguls. They charged with their horned heads lowered, and their weapons raised. There must have been thirty, at the very least, and a fair number of them were Kull. They charged a small group of humans, numbering only seven. Five of the seven had their weapons drawn, their faces pale with fear. The other two, were strangely out of place in the scene. One was a tall man, built like a bull, with broad shoulders and a thick muscled frame. Yet despite his great frame, his eyes were dim, and his expression vacant, indicating that he clearly lacked the wits of most men. He carried no weapon, and wore no armor, despite the fact that he looked as if he would be the best to send into a battle. The seventh human, was the only woman amongst them. She wore a cloak of royal red, bearing a black insignia of a claw clutching a globe. Her body was thin, and narrow beneath the folds of her garment. Her face was young, but already gaunt with years of suffering. It was this woman who stepped out in front of her companions, with the larger man close behind her.

"Böetq brisingr!" The woman in the red cloak shouted. The surrounding portion of the Spine ignited. The Urguls that had been charging a moment before disappeared into the host of twisting flames, and their scream s were drowned out in the roar of the fire. She let the blaze burn for a moment longer, and then quietly she said, "brakka," and the fire fizzled out to leave the trees hissing as steam escaped their wounded forms.

The small group of humans with the woman lowered their weapons, looking at her with a mixture of awe and fear. "I didn't think you were really a sorceress…" one of them said, "I thought that they were all caught up in the war…"

"Of course not," the woman replied, "There are greater treasures to claim than those that lie in the halls of Uru'baen or Trojenheim." Then, quietly she said to herself, "And greater secrets to discover."

"With the Varden so close to Uru'baen, wouldn't it be better to wait until things calm down. I heard there are elves patrolling the Spine, hunting down Galbatorix's men, why do this now?" another member of the party asked.

The woman in red replied, "Because everyone has their eyes on Uru'baen, waiting to see if that child dragon rider and his pet can manage to usurp the throne. Afterwards, it doesn't matter…if Galbatorix wins, he'll just go on making himself stronger. If the Varden win, they'll divvy up the spoils and we'll have a new king or queen and everything will be back in order. Now, while things are in a state of disarray, we have the chance to find a treasure unlike any that has been seen by the eyes of man before. Then, when the weather clears, we can live like royalty."

Another opened his mouth to protest, but then he fell to the ground, with an arrow protruding from the side of his head. Several of the Urguls had survived, and now, with the smoke clearing, it was clear that the Urguls had not come alone. Two figures stood amongst the smoke, small next to the Urguls, but far too graceful of form to be merely human. The small group, now only six, raised their weapons again.

The Urguls charged in, while the woman in red met the elves with her mind. Their thoughts stabbed and struck against her mind's defenses trying to get in, and she held them off, easily. The discipline of her thoughts was unparalleled, and for good reason. The reason, they soon discovered, as the elves tried to make their way into her mind, she very suddenly opened the whole of her being to them, and they fell to the ground, screaming. She extended her consciousness out, touching the minds of the Urguls, protected by the wards of the elves, but their minds were open, and ever so vulnerable. The Urguls too, collapsed, twitching in agony, unable to find the will to scream. "Yes," the woman said, her voice drawn out in a hiss. "Yes, feel it. Join me in my pain; join me in my curse, burn with me." The big man placed a hand on her shoulder, and at once she collected her thoughts, saying, "Hjartya letta," and at once all the Urguls were still.

The woman in red walked forward, amongst the corpses of her enemies looking like a wraith of death in her proper home, and stood over the fallen elves. Their minds were caught in her own, but their consciousness had retreated, leaving them vulnerable. She delved into their minds, drawing out all that they knew, all that could be useful. The melodies that played in their minds were silenced by the torments that her touch brought with her. There were few words of the ancient language that she did not already know, and fewer pieces of history that were of any relevance. Yet, she carefully noted everything. She then sought out the knowledge of the elves wards, and meticulously deconstructed them, drawing on the strength of the elves themselves to remove their protection. At last when they were fully vulnerable she withdrew her mind from them and said, "Manino neiat." With that the tormented expressions of the elves softened, and their breathing became easy and untroubled.

"Why not kill them?" One of the men asked.

"Questions, questions, questions." The woman in red said, "Because the elves would seek retribution for their deaths. You can kill Urguls by the dozens, but slay an elf and their whole nation won't rest until you're dead. These two won't remember anything when they awaken, nothing at all. Not even their names, their own tongue, nothing. They will be found by allies or enemies, and be left to them. Beyond that, it matters not." She then stepped over the prone forms of the elves and continued on her way. The others of the group hesitated over the body of their companion, and then followed the sorceress deeper into the wilds of the Spine.

#

Three days later the company of six was standing on the edge of the ocean. They had come to a beach with fine sand and the water lapped up gently on the shore. The trees were short and scraggily where they encroached upon the sand and several had fallen over, due to their unstable foundation.

The tide was out so the woman in red stood out at the edge of dry land. She crouched low and placed her hand in the water, "Jaris, come here," she said, and the big man lumbered over from where the others had started a fire. "I need your strength again, friend."

"I help. Don't hurt me much," he replied.

She managed a wry smile, "No, I don't hurt you much," and with that she reached out with her mind. She sunk into his being and felt his muddled comprehension meld with her sharp intellect. His thoughts were simple, and his observations plain, yet sometimes she would cross thoughts that to her bordered on revelation. His mind was plain, and yet his simplicity of being allowed him to see past the details to truths that her own mind obscured with infinite detail. Her pain flowed into him, and yet he did not resist her. The agony enveloped his mind, but didn't seem to affect him in the slightest.

_"Thank you again, my old friend."_ She said in the privacy of their minds.

_"Not liked men go now? Men who not Jaris?"_ He asked in a question that came all at once, surfacing from deep within his being.

_"Yes, they will be gone soon," _She replied.

Then she drew from his strength and then she breached the barrier in her mind, unleashing her magic, but she uttered no spell allowed. What she was doing was far too complicated to conduct merely with words, but instead, she directed the spell entirely with her thoughts. She dipped a single finger into the sea, and out from it a silent call went forth, looking for but a single being to hear it. The spell, though powerful, drew little power from either of them. It echoed through the water out into the open sea carrying with it several thoughts that would bring their prey to them. "Now again, we wait."

"I do good?" Jaris asked.

"Yes Jaris, you've done well. For now, go and keep warm by the fire. I have thinking to do," she replied. The big man lumbered away to where the other five sat, trying to keep warm.

#

Hours later, as the tide rose, and the sun edged its way to the horizon the woman in red was pacing. Her boots were sodden with seawater, but she seemed unwilling to move from the small section of the beach that she occupied. Her mind reached out and gently touched every being that came near. Yet, what she sought still eluded her. Then, at the edge of her consciousness she felt it, very suddenly, and it was coming for them, with great speed. She called out, "Jaris to me!"

The big man reacted quickly, jumping to his feet and running to her side, ignoring the cold water that saturated his shoes. He reached her just in time. "Garjzla moi!" she said, and at once the two of them vanished.

The beast rocketed out of the sea, its huge maw open, with fangs longer than the height of a man bathed in the fiery red of the evening sun. The five men left by the fire screamed as the titan bellowed. For a moment everything was flashing teeth and writhing fins and then the campfire was extinguished, along with the lives of those that had been sitting around it a moment before. "Letta," The woman in red said, and she and Jaris reappeared. The giant sea creature turned to them, propelling itself with its fins, sliding its massive bulk toward them. The woman held up her hand and said, "Ach neo sharj, Nidhwal. Ie wilae yauna onr lifaætti ono sharj." Do not move, Nidhwal. I will take your life should you move.

At once the creature lashed out at her with its mind, gripping her with its ancient and alien thoughts. She did not resist, instead, she let the beast attack her mind. It was strong, and the agony that she felt did not dissuade it.

_The ancient mind of the Nidwhal took what it saw from her mind and formed thoughts in a language that she would understand. "You are stupid and weak," The creature said in her mind. Her mental agony did nothing to keep it from gripping her thoughts with its own. It had faced much worse in its lifetime._

_ "And you are wise and mighty, Ebrithil gamall einn," she replied, "Yet, I am not one to forget what I learn. I have learnt of the sea, Gamall einn, and I wish to learn more."_

_ "What secrets do you seek, fool of the dead land? You are wise enough only to find me, but stupid enough to not realize that I do not treat with land-dwellers." The great being began to draw its mind away from her, but then an image surfaced in the woman's mind. It was this image that drew the mind of the Nidhwal back. "Rralbrathrönd drragral rallorst! What doom do you bear small one?"_

With that the woman reached into her cloak and drew out a knife. She took off her cloak and handed it to Jaris. Then she drew up her shirt until her ribs could be seen through her skin. She ran the blade along the rib that was second from the bottom, gashing her own flesh without as much as a flinch. A cold glow emanated from the wound, and she used her knife to pry out the small orb that was embedded in her own bone. It glowed with a faint white light from within its dark black surface.

She said, "This is the heart of hearts, of one of your kind, and while it is small, this single being has survived in this state for thousands of years, bearing with it memories of secrets that no one now remembers. It was through this Nidwhal that I learnt of the creature that called itself, Ævarandi Konungur. The Perpetual King. I know where his tomb lies, at the bottom of the sea. There, I wish to see what secrets lay upon the ocean floor."

_"So you wish me to bear you to the bottom of the sea? I, eldest of my kind, rover of the waves, master of the currents and bearer of the tides? You think to command me? What makes you think that I would grant a nothingness like you even a passing thought?"_

_ She responded in her mind, "Because you wish to know as well, Gamall einn."_

_ The thoughts of the Nidwhal turned from musings of eating her, and the curiosity that it had been feeling bubbled to the surface. "Yes, you are right; I do wish to know what rests in the murk of the deep. Yet I see not how to get there in your mind."_

The woman reached into her cloak and drew out a scroll. "I have written the precise directions to the sunken wreck. I erased my memory of how to get to the ship, as well as my time writing this parchment. I shall read it as we go so that you will have to bear me the whole way."

When she finished speaking the Nidwhal withdrew its mind, and opened its mouth, lowering its tongue to the ground, so that she and Jaris could climb in. They did, and the titan's jaws closed around them, plunging the world into darkness, accompanied only by the reek of old fish. The two of them heard the Nidwhal's body scrape against the sand, and then all was silent from the outside world. The woman in red lifted her shirt up again, revealing the self-inflicted gash. She placed the Eldunari back into the wound and uttered, "Waise heill," and the light from the small orb was sealed up within her own body.


	2. Chapter 2: Well Forgotten Secrets

Chapter 2

The journey to the deep was hardly a gentle thing. The Nidwhal's way of swimming involved a swift sweeping of its entire body. It rushed through the open sea following the directions of the woman as she read them from the scroll. Her were-light glowed above her head, lighting the cavernous mouth of the Nidwhal. When the last of the directions were concluded The Nidwhal came to a stop, floating in the blackness.

The woman in red stood up, swaying from side to side. The Nidwhal's tongue made for bad footing. "To me Jaris, I want you close for what happens next," The woman in red said. Jaris tried to climb to his feet as well, but the way that the tongue shifted under his feet was too much for him. Instead he crawled to her side. She spared him a half-hearted smile. Then she took the small heart of hearts from her pocket. Her mind reached into it, and the exceptionally ancient mind of the Nidwhal reached out of it to her.

_The mind contained within the heart of hearts was swimming with music. Yet there was still a small part of it that remained aware. This partial consciousness connected with her mind, despite her pain. It needed the sensation of something outside its half-life. She could provide that at least. The woman in red sent out a thought to it, requesting to see what it had seen, to know where it still lay. The memory began to play before her once more, one of the very few memories that the broken mind of the Nidwhal still retained:_

The Nidwhal swam to the surface, watching the underbelly of the vessel as it passed. There were no sails, and no oars in the water. The ship was propelled by magic, and the Nidwhal had known this. There was something aboard the ship, something that was making music. The nidwhal could hear it in its mind.

The nidwhal nudged the bottom of the boat trying to discern where the sound was coming from, and then the music had enveloped all of its thought. A moment later and the music had become quiet. The vessel was broken open. It was sinking, and the Nidwhal was glad. Small two-legged beings floundered about in the water, and distantly the woman in red recognized them for what they were, the Grey Folk. The Nidwhal had eaten a few in passing, but the music was sinking away with the rest of the ship, and so the little creature had followed, helpless not to.

The Nidwhal followed after until the ship came crashing down upon the ocean floor. Then, from the seabed there came a sudden rumbling, and four pillars rose up. They shredded the ship as they passed pushing the wooden planks away, revealing the precious cargo inside; the source of the music. It was a orb, much like an Eldunari in its own right, but it glowed brilliantly. While the luminescence of an Eldunari was mystical to see, this orb glowed majestically. It was so bright that the Nidwhal could not even discern how large it really was. All it knew was that the music was there again, taking away all thought, and the memory became nothing but wondrous light and music.

The woman in red withdrew her mind from that of the small heart of hearts. She took a deep breath to compose herself and bring her thoughts in order. Then she extended her mind to the Nidwhal that they were riding in. _The Nidwhal showed her the surrounding ocean, and the woman in red directed his gaze. Even after thousands of years the four pillars were still recognizable. All around them a pale coral had built up, making them look like spires of ash somehow frozen in time. At the base of the four pillars the coral had grown together. _ Inside the Nidwhal the woman in red whispered, "Jierda," and through the Nidwhal's eyes she saw the coral crumble.

"_Now sweep away the dust and we shall see it," _she said in her mind.

"_See what exactly?" _The Nidwhal asked in turn. But then the music began. The water below them swirled and drew the dust away, revealing…light. The woman saw the light through the eyes of the Nidwhal. The music though echoed not in the world of physical reality. It resonated through her mind, encompassing all thoughts, reverberating through her very core. The Nidwhal's mind at once was sealed off from her as it became entranced with the sound of the music. She struggled to keep her mind locked with Jaris so that she still had his strength to aid her magic.

Without the eyes of the Nidwhal the woman in red was blind to what was going on outside. She covered her ears as if in hopes that it would block out the sound. The music was startlingly beautiful. Yet for all the glory that the song seemed to bear into her mind she felt something else just beyond the wonder. There was a cunning intellect there, waiting for her to fall prey to its trap.

Jaris was calm at the intrusion into his mind, but like so many things the wonder of it was lost on him. His simple mind was a shield once more, and once the woman in red had regained a firm place alongside his mind she used his consciousness to shield her own. She began to focus her mind once she had regained control of herself. The music seemed to fade as she prepared to cast a spell of great complexity. It was her failsafe. She focused on a secret place on the southern edge of the spine, a place where she had left a barely existent ward, but a ward to which she could draw herself. She spoke the words that the spell required and opened up the core of her magical power, tapping into all of the gems that she had embedded in her own flesh, and borrowing a great deal of strength from Janis.

The woman in red closed her eyes as she prepared for the spell to take hold, but the instant before it did the music suddenly stopped. The mind behind the music reached out and tore into her vulnerable mind. It disregarded the pain she felt, and spoke a single phrase in a long forgotten language. The being though conveyed its intended thoughts to her clearly, "_Flee. Fly away and tell them that I rise up from the deep. Tell them Ævarandi Konungur lives again."_


	3. Chapter 3 Jungenbarzul

Chapter 3

The sound of the sea was a distant murmur in her ears. The woman in red tried desperately to open her eyes, and at long last she managed it. The very effort of doing so was enough to send her mind sprawling back to momentary unconsciousness. Her ears were ringing and the world around her was a dim, shimmering shadow. As she regained consciousness once more she reached out with her mind, tentatively looking for Jaris. She found his mind close by, and found that he had already recovered from the spell that had transported both of them back to their own small haven.

Jaris, feeling the touch of her mind, rose and went to her side. He took her hand gently in her own, a gesture that carried his concerns for her, despite his inability to articulate them aloud. He instead whispered to her, "Badness gone now. We are in Jung. Jung is safe."

Jung. The word echoed around inside the woman's head. It had a meaning to her that did not quite fit into her muddled mind. Then the word struck upon a memory, and the name took form. Jungenbarzul. That was the name of the place. The Dragon's Curse. It had been their shelter for the past four years. With that knowledge everything else settled into place. At last the woman in red forced herself to speak, "Jaris, bring me the stone."

Jaris at once disappeared from her field of vision, and then he returned once more. He placed something small and cold into her hand. The woman in red sent her mind into the small gem, a flawed amethyst, which contained its full reserve of power. The energy was barely enough to sustain wakefulness for an hour. She siphoned the power off into herself leaving the unremarkable gem as lifeless as it had been when she first found it.

With her newfound strength the woman in red sat up and looked about the ancient chamber. The ceiling and walls were marked with ancient Dwarven runes. The runes themselves held no power, but within the stone walls were century upon century of wards and enchantments. Jungenbarzul had once been the home of a cult of Dwarves dedicated to killing off the dragons to extinction. After the rise of the Dragon Riders those Dwarves still dedicated to their cause were eventually hunted down and slaughtered. Their stronghold had thereafter been left forgotten.

The woman in red motioned for Jaris to help her to her feet. He misinterpreted the motion though, and lifted her bodily into his arms. She wrapped her arms limply about Jaris' neck. She knew that her own arms were far too weak to hold her own weight should Jaris drop her, but she held on simply for the sake of steadying her own resolve. "Take me to the library," she said , and Jaris followed her orders at once.

He rushed through the halls of the ancient catacomb. The architects of the Dwarves had seen fit to line every hallway with alcoves for the felled members of the cult. Many were empty, but many more were sealed up. The long dead Dwarves were protected by stone and enchantment of their comrades. A few of the tombs had been broken open, and the woman in red looked to each of these as Jaris carried her by. It was in these tombs that she had first begun her excavation. They were the last of the dead that had been laid to rest here. The stone lids had been laid over the tombs by servants rather than equals. No spells had been laid, for there were no sorcerers left in the cult once these had died. Their bodies, and what was buried with them, had taught the woman in red much of Jungenbarzul.

When Jaris came to the door leading to the library he stopped. The door before them was illuminated by spells that had been laid upon the steel. The whole surface of the door was a skillfully crafted relief depicting Dwarven soldiers wrapping cords about a dragon's neck. From above a single Dwarf leapt at the Dragon's head with a war hammer held high. Upon this relief was a single irregularity. At about where the handle would be for a dwarf to grasp it was the shaft of a spear that protruded straight out of the relief. Above it was written in Dwarven, runes, "Take up your spear, brother. Speak your oath and join the battle."

The woman in red released her hold on Jaris' neck and gripped the shaft of the spear. She spoke in Dwarven, "I vow to slay the serpents of the sky. Their blood is the only price I will accept for the evils they have done."

When she finished speaking she released the handle of the spear and the illumination of the door flickered out as the great gates opened into the great library of long dead sorcerers.


End file.
